Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Ex-L-A Weatherman Sues Celeb Attorney Gloria Allred

Gloria Allred

A former client of Gloria Allred has filed a lawsuit against the celebrity attorney for legal malpractice and fraud, claiming she negligently represented him during a case.

According to LawNewz, Kyle Hunter, a L-A television weatherman for KCBS and KCAL, hired Allred to go after CBS for allegedly discriminating against him in favor of younger, attractive female meteorologists. His lawsuit filed on Tuesday contends Allred botched his legal case, and didn’t properly notify him that she was working with CBS to produce a legal drama inspired by her life — an obvious conflict of interest, he claims.

Variety reports the suit, filed by attorney Robert Barnes, accuses Allred of using her celebrity status to “serve her personal pocketbook and political agenda.”

Kyle Hunter

“Allred has spent her career more focused on winning press conferences than winning cases,” the suit alleges. “In this case, Allred sandbagged her client to serve her personal pecuniary interests, her penchant for public fame, and to protect the malfeasance of her media allies. Allred needs to spend less time in front of a TV camera, and more time in an ethics library.”

Hunter first contacted Allred’s firm in 2010, after being passed over for two jobs at KCAL and KCBS in favor of younger women. In the suit, he alleges that Allred failed to follow up with his co-workers who could have corroborated his story.

The case bounced around the legal system for a few years before the Court of Appeal finally dismissed Hunter’s claim in January 2016. The court ruled that Hunter had not offered sufficient evidence to counter the station’s argument that he was passed over because he lacked the “talent, skill or on-air presence” to succeed in the L.A. market.

The legal action comes on the heels of recent reports that Allred is under investigation by the State Bar of California. Allred, a renowned civil rights attorney, is known for getting involved in controversial celebrity cases, especially those involving allegations of sexual assault and discrimination.